


Shards

by i_paint_the_sky



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, USS Buran
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 08:11:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15020366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_paint_the_sky/pseuds/i_paint_the_sky
Summary: Glimpses into the mind of Mirror Lorca as he takes in the Prime universe.





	1. USS Buran

**Author's Note:**

> Recently, I finally got caught up with watching Discovery, which left me deeply conflicted as Gabriel was my favourite character and suddenly I wasn't sure of anything anymore. To help process this, I fell into a large rabbit hole of fandom and have yet to come out, especially since the Cornwell/Lorca fandom is just so wonderful and talented. This fic is my first attempt to deal with things.
> 
> Most of the tags have to do with chapter two. I'm calling it complete at two chapters for now, but seeing as the chapters were originally separate ideas, I might find myself coming back to it, if the mood strikes me.

The crew of the USS Buran wasn’t an exactly match for its ISS counterpart, but it was close enough. The ship was filled with faces he recognized, though they weren’t quite the same. 

Of course, to them, neither was he.

Gabriel knew the clock was ticking before someone began to figure it out. It was only through charm that he’d managed to keep anyone from realizing just how different his was from their Captain Lorca. Well, that and a good helping of ignorance. But even his charm had its limit, high though it was.

He was thankful that this universe’s Commander Landry was no longer assigned to the _Buran_. She had been his most loyal supporter, no doubt paying a heavy price now that he was here. It would have been a pity to have to kill her counterpart. 

Gabriel certainly wasn’t opposed to killing those who stood in his way - his Starfleet record was full of such actions - but in this case, he didn’t relish it. This wasn’t his ship but it was still the _Buran_ , still a waste, albeit a necessary one.

It had been easy, luring the Klingons while keeping the crew from noticing the subspace breadcrumbs leading to their ship. Well, most of the crew. Commander Lakshmi, science officer in both worlds, had picked up on it, which is why her body was currently lying in the captain’s quarters. But no one else had suspected a thing.

At times, watching the battle from the safety of his powered down shuttle hurt his eyes, but he didn’t look away. Even though he didn’t really know these people, he felt he owed them at least that much. They were the closest thing he had to a crew right now.

When the outward signs of battle stopped, Gabriel knew the ship had been boarded, just as he planned. “I had to do it,” he whispered to himself, as he initiated the self-destruct sequence. “Not my crew. Not on my watch.”

He had to look away from the explosion, it was too intense. On the literal bright side however, this gave him an idea of how to explain his light sensitivity. It would still be a challenge, explaining why the captain was the only one not to go down with the ship, but the supposed trauma of such an act would explain away a lot.

Just as long as it didn’t cost too much. He still needed a ship, still needed to get back and finish what he’d started. In his head, he was already making a list of just who he wanted - and needed - for the future crew of that ship.

But for now, he had some time before it would be safe to send out a distress call. And he had reading material: the complete logs of Captain Gabriel Lorca.

By the time they found him, he was going to be ready.


	2. Katrina Cornwell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned, the tags for this chapter. I don't go into great detail but there is reference to Mirror Lorca sleeping with Cornwell, which of course brings many issues of consent along with it.

He didn't know the Katrina Cornwell of his world. He’d heard of her, but he couldn’t recall every actually meeting her.

It was fascinating, seeing what - and who - stayed the same and what didn't. This universe's Gabriel Lorca had never met Michael Burnham, one of the most important people in his life. And he had never met his doppelganger dearest friend, as well as superior officer.

He’d been lucky to make it through their first encounter without her declaring him completely unfit for duty. He’d read as much as he could of his counterpart’s personal and professional logs to be aware of who she was, but he hadn’t expected the years of friendship. 

Hadn’t expected her to call him ‘Gabriel.’

He’d muddled through their first meeting here somehow, using the supposed trauma he’d just experienced the entire time. And she’d bought it, barely. She not only believed him, she believed _in_ him. Or, at least, in the person she thought he was. Belief was a powerful thing, something he could use to buy himself as much time as possible.

He’d suspected the minute Commander Seru said that Katrina’s cruiser had arrived that this time was up. As he headed to his ready room, he prepared himself for the haranguing he knew was coming. This world’s Starfleet was so caught up in rules and protocol, it was a wonder that anything got done.

Still, he’d tried his best to get out of it, using her obvious biases against her. She was smart enough to know what he was doing but, for all too personal reasons, she let him do it anyway. He even got her into bed, which he hadn’t been expecting. At least the sex was good, because the aftermath was anything but.

The phaser had been a mistake on his part, he could admit to that. The rest of his reaction was instinct, nothing he could have prevented but he might have been able to explain it away one more time. The phaser was pre-meditation.

So he actually had to stoop to begging, little good that it did him. His brain went into overdrive as she stormed out, desperate to find anyway to keep this ship, this crew, everything he had built up so carefully since his arrival in this universe.

And then the solution landed in his lap, affirment that this was where he was meant to be. _Discovery _was his destiny.__

__He hadn’t known for certain that the peace talks were a sham, though it didn’t take a genius to suspect that they might be. These were the Klingons after all, hardly better than rabid animals on a good day. And if they were going to take someone hostage anyway, it might as well be the very person who had been about to topple him from his rightful place. Then, all he had to do was parrot her own words back, finally following her orders to the letter and waiting for the proper procedure._ _

__Even though he’d only known her for a handful of months, Gabriel was pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate the irony._ _

____

-

During the attack on the Ship of the Dead, he was surprised to find out Katrina was still alive - surprised and more than a little impressed. Klingons didn’t exactly go easy on their prisoners, as he well knew. And she’d be their prisoner for far longer than he.

She was badly hurt though, a spinal fracture that left her paralyzed from the waist down. It was nothing Starfleet couldn’t fix but she needed a medical evac to the nearest base ASAP. She’d arrive, go into surgery, and when she came out of it, well, maybe she would have forgotten the plan to take away his ship. 

Gabriel wouldn’t bet on that. 

He considered whether it would be cleaner to arrange for a shuttle accident, or to go down now and finish it himself. But it hardly seemed necessary, with _Discovery_ ready for her last jump. Plus, despite her insistence on proper procedure, he’d enjoyed her company while in this universe well enough to consider finding her counterpart in his universe, once Philippa had been properly deposed. And so he did nothing as the shuttle took off and only offered his best when Admiral Terral informed him of her safe arrival at Starbase 88.

Gabriel Lorca may be ruthless, but he wasn’t wasteful.


End file.
